A California family's wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the X2 rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain was so violent it killed their 22-year-old son, and the ride has since been linked to yet another unconscious rider. Christopher Hawley, a recent San Diego State graduate from Garden Grove, California, collapsed shortly after stepping off the X2 […] The post Family sues Six Flags after 22-year-old dies from brain injury following X2 rollercoaster ride appeared first on American Almanac .
A California family's wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the X2 rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain was so violent it killed their 22-year-old son, and the ride has since been linked to yet another unconscious rider. Christopher Hawley, a recent San Diego State graduate from Garden Grove, California, collapsed shortly after stepping off the X2 rollercoaster on June 23, 2022. His face turned red. He would not wake up. Emergency crews rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died the following day. He was 22 years old. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as blunt head trauma, and the coroner's report attributed the fatal injury to a "park ride accident." Now the Hawley family is seeking $10 million in…Open
By Mark St. Cyr The unglamorous machinery of local governance, were once filled by the business community; not out of altruism, but out of self-interest correctly understood. It it time we restore that dynamic.
AI:The legal shield that big tech giants have used to dodge accountability for years is finally cracking as a federal court ruled that Meta can no longer hide behind the protections of Section 230 in an ongoing lawsuit brought by a coalition of attorneys general. While the radical left-wing media remains predictably silent about this massive blow to Silicon Valley's untouchable status, this trial represents a watershed moment for digital accountability regarding Facebook and Instagram. This is not just a corporate dispute; it is a monumental battle against the unchecked power of tech behemoths that have long operated with impunity, setting aside their social responsibilities to prioritize profit and biased moderation. As this case heads to…Open
‘access to the flight recorders when these accidents happen’
AI:Tech giants are attempting to pull a fast one by treating autonomous AI agents like mysterious aviation disasters rather than accountable software. As artificial intelligence transitions from simple tools to complex "black boxes," Silicon Valley elites want to avoid liability for the chaos their rogue algorithms cause by mimicking the investigations used after plane crashes. They seek to shroud the decision-making processes of these digital entities in secrecy, effectively denying investigators and the public access to the "flight recorders" of AI logic. This move aims to insulate big tech from responsibility while allowing unproven, autonomous systems to operate with zero transparency or accountability for the wreckage they leave behind.Open
Move over, data centers. AI's climate impact may extend well beyond the electricity it consumes. Why it matters: A new peer-reviewed study finds AI could help produce more oil and natural gas — and produce a climate impact the authors argue could far outweigh the technology's benefits for renewable energy. Driving the news: The research, just published in a Nature journal, concludes AI's role in boosting oil and gas production would outweigh its climate benefits from accelerating renewable energy, leading to a net increase in emissions under a range of scenarios. - The study is among the first to estimate how AI-driven gains in fossil fuel production could affect global emissions. "Most assessments of AI's climate impact are framed as…
Data: Brunswick Group and Echelon Insights; Chart: Sara Wise/Axios CEOs face an increasingly skeptical American public that's laser-focused on affordability and fairness, according to polling from the Brunswick Group and Echelon Insights provided first to Axios. Why it matters: With the midterms less than 100 days away, the results show corporate leaders need to build trust through consistency and neutrality — rather than trying to chase political headwinds. By the numbers: 41% of Americans surveyed said a topic linked to affordability (cost of living, the economy, jobs) is the biggest issue facing the country right now. - Asked what they'd tell CEOs about life in America today, a quarter of respondents pointed to high costs, while…
Florida's attorney general says the NFL's Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview minority candidates for top jobs, is discriminatory. Trump's EEOC has challenged such policies elsewhere.